Sunny Days and Moon Cakes (13 page)

“Fine,” I say. At least it will stop her moaning and it would be fun to see a baby whale close up.

“Quick!” she says, hurtling down the steps and back inside. “The whales will be gone by the time we get there if we don’t hurry.”

“Min! Hold on!” I cry, dashing after her. I stop in the living room to stuff my red sketchbook and a pencil into my pocket in case I get a chance to draw the whales.

I run all the way from the house, but it still takes ages for me to reach the far side of the island. Min must have sprinted, because she’s already there, waiting by the tumbling-down deserted farmhouse just in front of Fastnet Point, the fenced-off headland that juts out into the water. Dad says it’s been so eroded by the huge Atlantic rollers that it will fall into the sea one day.

“There you are, slowcoach,” Min says. “Look, the whales are still there.” As we watch, one of the humpbacks shoots water out of his blowhole, high into the air. “Wow!” she says. “Let’s get closer.” She starts to climb over the wire fence that leads to the Point.

“Min, be careful,” I tell her. “We’re not supposed to go onto the headland, remember? It’s dangerous. Mum will have a fit.”

“Careful, schmareful. Don’t tell her then.” Min reaches the other side of the fence, then looks back at me and grins. “Come on, scaredy-cat. Quick, before that hiker catches up with us.” She points up the road. “I don’t want to share our whales with anyone else!”

I’m not sure going onto the headland is such a good idea, but Min is darting towards the sea so fast that I’ll have to climb over if I’m going to keep up with her. I follow her, picking my way through the wiry marram grass.

Min reaches the end of the land and says, “Hey! Is that another baby whale?” She moves even closer to the edge of the cliff to take a closer look.

“Min!” I say. “Come back from the edge!” I should yell it, but I know the hiker is somewhere near by, so my voice only comes out as a whisper.

Min turns, a grin on her face. “Don’t be silly! I’m—”

And suddenly the ground falls away under her feet. She shrieks as she starts sliding down the cliff face.

I dash towards her, my arms outstretched to try to grab her. But I’m too late, and she’s already disappeared. A tiny shriek escapes from me. There are huge jagged boulders at the bottom of the cliff. If Min lands on them, she’ll… I can’t finish that thought.

Min! Oh, Min.

I creep right to the edge of the cliff, afraid to go too close in case the earth collapses underneath my weight and the debris lands on top of Min. As I peer down at the swirling water below, I hear a groan right beneath me. At least I know she’s alive – but I can’t see her.

I lie down on the grass and inch my way forwards on my stomach, so I can get a better view down the cliff face. Min is lying on a ledge. She’s on her side, with her back facing the sea. One of her arms is trapped under her at a funny angle. There are fallen rocks and earth on top of her chest. There’s no way I can reach her. She’s too far down.

I hear another moan and then she twists her head to look up at me, blinking some fallen earth out of her eyes. “My arm is sore, Sunny. Everything hurts. And I’m getting c-cold.” Her teeth clack together as she speaks.

“I have to go and get help, Min,” I say frantically.

She looks panicked. “No! Don’t leave me.”

Behind me, I hear a voice calling, “Are you all right over there?” There’s a tall woman in a green parka standing by the farmhouse, on the other side of the fence. It’s the hiker. Thank goodness! I ease myself upright and run over to her. I point at the cliff.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really understand,” she says. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

I open my mouth to try, but nothing comes out. I shake my head. Then I point at the cliff again and mouth the word “cliff”.

She reads my lips. “The cliff? What about the cliff?”

I mouth “Fall” at her.
Fall. Fall
.

“Fall?” she says. “Someone’s fallen? Is that it? Down the cliff?”

I nod furiously. I’m so relieved she understands me.

“I’m coming to help,” she says.

I point to the sign on the fence that says
DANGER, CLIFF UNSAFE
.

“I’ll be very careful,” she assures me. After climbing over the fence, she walks gingerly towards the cliff edge and I follow her. “Is there anyone down there?” she asks when she’s as near to the edge as she dares.

“Yes!” Min shouts. “Me! Help!”

The woman strains her neck to see Min. “You’re going to be all right, pet,” she says. “We’re going to get some help. Just stay very still.”

“Is Sunny there?” Min says. “I want Sunny.”

“Is that you?” the woman asks me.

I nod.

“She’s here,” the woman tells Min. “Don’t worry. I’m going to ring the emergency services.” She takes out her phone and dials 999. When she’s finished telling them what’s happened and where we are and asked them to hurry, she hangs up, and I point at her mobile.

“You want to use it?” She looks surprised.

I pretend to text with my finger on the palm of my hand.

“Ah, texting, I see.” She hands the phone over and I press in Alanna’s number and send her a message:
Min fell down cliff – Fastnet Point. Help on way – a hiker found us. She rang 999. Please come! Sunny

Alanna texts back immediately:
Hang in there. I’m on my way
.

I’m hit by a huge wave of relief. Alanna’s coming and so are the emergency services. I lie down on my belly again and crawl forward so that Min can see me. She is so pale. I may not be able to talk to her, but I’m trying to tell her how much I love her with my eyes. Right this second I have never loved her more. My stubborn and brave little sister. But I feel so guilty. She’s in serious danger and yet again I haven’t been able to call for help.

Alanna is running towards us. I’m so relieved to see her. She must have sprinted all the way from the cafe. Her cheeks are bright red and her chest is heaving up and down.

I wave at her.

She waves back.

“Is that your friend?” Liz asks me. That’s the hiker’s name. She’s a primary school teacher from Cork City, she told me. She gave me some water and a chocolate bar to keep me going. She’s being very kind. “Is she the one you texted?” she adds.

I nod.

“Sunny!” Alanna says. She climbs over the wire fence and races towards us, slowing down as she gets closer because we’re standing right on the edge of the cliff.

“This stupid headland is lethal,” Alanna says. “You OK, Sunny?”

I nod again.

She looks at Liz. “I’m Alanna, a friend of Sunny’s. Thanks for staying with her.”

“I’m Liz. There’s a helicopter on the way. Sunny’s been watching the little girl on the cliff like a hawk. Is it her sister?”

“Yes, she’s called Min. Is she all right?”

“She’s badly hurt,” Liz says. “But she’s conscious, just about. You can see her for yourself if you look over the edge. Careful, though. The ground is really unstable. It’s probably best to lie down.”

Alanna lies on the marram grass as Liz suggested and peers down the cliff face. “Oh, Min!” she says. “You poor thing. Can you hear me? It’s me, Alanna. The helicopter’s coming. They’ll airlift you to hospital. Did you get that? Help’s on the way. Min!” Alanna tries again, louder. “Stay with us. Don’t fall asleep.”

Still no reply.

The silence is broken by an engine noise behind us. A jeep is tearing down the road that leads from the village up to the headland.

After wriggling back from the edge, Alanna runs towards the jeep. She scrambles over the fence just as the jeep comes to a stop in front of the farmhouse, sending small stones flying. Leaving Liz watching Min, I follow Alanna. Mattie, Cal’s mum, and Shay, one of the local fishermen, climb out of the back of the jeep as I arrive. They’re part of the Coastal Rescue team, along with Landy’s dad, Bat, who is in the driver’s seat. He gives me a little wave.

“Where’s Min?” Mattie asks Alanna.

“On a ledge halfway down the cliff. She’s just gone unconscious. Sunny and a hiker called Liz did a brilliant job of keeping her awake until now.”

Mattie gives me a nod. “Well done, Sunny. Now can I ask you all to stand well back while we set up the ropes?”

Alanna calls Liz away from the cliff. When she has joined us, Alanna says, “They need to act quickly and we’ll only be in the way here. Let’s sit on the rocks over by the farmhouse. We can see everything from there.”

It’s a relief to sit down. My legs are wobbly and my heart is racing. I’m so worried about Min that I feel physically sick.

Alanna takes my hand and holds it tight. “She’ll be fine, Sunny. Mattie and her team know what they’re doing. And the helicopter will be here soon, I promise.”

As we watch, Bat batters the fence down with the jeep and then drives a few metres towards the cliff, stopping a good distance from the edge. He kills the engine, jumps out and, with Shay’s help, hooks a pulley system to the metal loop at the front of the jeep, while Mattie steps into a harness. Seconds later, Shay and Bat carefully lower Mattie over the edge of the cliff on a rope attached to the pulley system. It all happens remarkably fast.

I stand up to see better. My eyes are glued to the exact spot where Mattie disappeared. A few minutes later, she reappears, but Min isn’t with her. Mattie says something to Bat, who runs towards us.

“Min’s leg is definitely broken,” he tells us. “And maybe her arm too and some ribs. She’s unconscious but breathing. Mattie thinks her body has gone into shock. It’s too dangerous to try to move her, but Mattie managed to push her further in against the cliff wall and she’s also put a safety harness and a rope on her in case the ledge gives way. Now we have to wait until the helicopter arrives. They’ll airlift her off the ledge. In fact, I think I can hear it now. I’ll fill them in on Min’s condition.”

Sure enough, as Bat pulls out his handheld radio to make the call, there’s a faint whirring noise and I can make out a dark speck in the sky over Redrock. It’s getting bigger and bigger.

Bat steps away from the jeep to talk to the helicopter pilot via the radio. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I guess he’s telling the pilot what has happened and what’s wrong with Min. When he’s finished, he walks back towards us. “They’re going to take her to Cork University Hospital. They’re all trained paramedics, so they’ll look after her on the flight and make sure she’s safe.”

I start to cry. Poor Min. Embarrassed, I wipe my tears away with my fingers.

Alanna puts her arm around me and says, “Ah, pet, Min’s going to be just fine.”

“She’s in the best hands, Sunny,” Liz adds. “Don’t you worry. My sister-in-law’s a doctor in that hospital. I’ll ring her and make sure they give Min VIP treatment.”

I give Liz a nod to say thanks.

The large red-and-white helicopter is hovering over the sea beside the cliff now. It’s so close that sand and grit are hitting us in the face. The noise is deafening. I press my hands over my ears to deaden it a little and Alanna and Liz do the same.

The helicopter door slides open and a man in an orange dry suit appears. He’s wearing a yellow helmet and there’s a harness attached to his body. He’s holding what looks like a stretcher in one hand. Another man lowers him down on a winch until he’s parallel to the cliff face. Then, like Mattie before him, he disappears over the edge of the cliff.

Waiting for him to reappear is agonizing. But suddenly I see the top of his yellow helmet, then his face, his body and finally the stretcher with Min on it. She’s bundled up in a special blanket, so I can’t see her face. My eyes tear up again, this time with relief. She’s safe!

The helicopter lifts into the air and Min and the man who rescued her are slowly winched up and up. Once they are safely inside, the helicopter powers away, taking Min to the hospital. I watch until it’s a black speck in the sky once more.

Alanna hugs me. “Let’s go back to the cafe and wait for your mum. And I think we owe Liz a large slice of cake for all her help.”

“I wouldn’t say no to cake.” Liz smiles at me, but I can only manage a tiny smile back. I keep thinking that Mum trusted me to look after my little sister, and now Min’s on her way to the hospital. And, if it hadn’t been for Liz and Alanna, Min would still be lying on that cliff ledge, because I couldn’t call for help. I’ve let Min down again. She deserves better.

Poor Mum gets an awful fright when she hears about Min. Alanna manages to get hold of her on her mobile while she’s still at the vet’s. Mum arranges for me to get the ferry to Redrock and to meet her there. Goldie will stay with the vet while we travel up to the hospital together in Mum’s car to be with Min.

As soon as the ferry docks and I step off, Mum pulls me into a huge hug. “Oh, Sunny. You must have been so scared,” she says, stroking my hair. “I rang the hospital. Min’s leg, arm and ribs are badly broken and the doctor says she has to stay in for a few nights so they can keep an eye on her. Dad’s flying in later. Let’s get to the hospital as quickly as possible.”

In the car on the way there, Mum asks why I’m being so quiet and I tell her I’m just worried about Min, which is true. But I also can’t stop thinking about what could have happened if Liz hadn’t come along. And what if she hadn’t understood what I was trying to tell her? My sister could be dead now because of me! I can’t tell Mum any of this, so I keep it to myself.

“I should never have left the two of you alone like that,” Mum says, breaking into my thoughts. “Min’s too much of a handful. What was I thinking?”

“It wasn’t your fault, Mum,” I say. “We shouldn’t have been on the headland. Min ran on ahead and I couldn’t catch her.”

“No one can stop Min,” she says. “She’s a force of nature. Please don’t blame yourself, pet. I’m just glad you’re both all right.”

It’s after six by the time we get to the hospital, but the nurse on duty says we’re allowed in to see Min for a short visit and that she’ll fetch the doctor to talk to us first. The doctor appears a few minutes later – a tiny dark-haired woman with kind brown eyes behind big red glasses. She’s wearing a white coat over blue scrubs. She introduces herself as Doctor Kinder and tells us she’s Liz’s sister-in-law and is making sure Min is getting the best possible care. She says that Min is doing very well and she’s given her something for the pain.